Mourinho confirmed at his media conference on Friday afternoon that Courtois would be back in the squad for the match at Stamford Bridge against struggling Bournemouth.

“Thibaut was our keeper all last season and you know how fundamental he was, it’s important to have him back,” said Mourinho.

Courtois has been training for the last two weeks and has convinced the staff that he is ready to be thrown into a high-intensity league encounter.

Mourinho regards Courtois as one of the finest goalkeepers in the world and has been keen to re-integrate him back into the team behind a defence that has struggled during much of his time on the sidelines.

Skipper Terry misses a second match in a row with the ankle injury he sustained in the Champions League win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv 10 days ago.